The effect of early specific feeding on food conditioning in cats

Four cats were fed with beef only (beef cats) and 4 cats were fed with tuna only (tuna cats) during the first 6 months of their lives. Thus, they were deprived of a variety of food tastes. The cats then were trained in instrumental conditioning. After criterion performance was achieved, they were retrained with alternated food: In the beef cats, tuna was used, and in tuna cats, beef was used. There were six stages with alternated food. The beef cats acquired a pushing response markedly slower than the tuna cats because they often refused to eat the beef reward. Moreover, both the beef and the tuna cats preferred tuna in stages with alternated food. In contrast, there was no difference in attractiveness between beef or tuna in another 4 cats nondeprived of a variety of food tastes. Hence, early deprivation of a variety of food tastes may reveal an inborn food preference.